Nermin Dizdar

Summary

Nermin Dizdar enjoyed a fortunate childhood in his hometown of Banja Luka, Bosnia-Herzegovina, complete with family trips to the Adriatic coast island of Korcula. Mr. Dizdar played team handball for his high school, attended summer camps, and enjoyed time with his sister and parents. A skilled athlete, from 1984 to 1993, he also played soccer for FK Željezničar, Bosnia-Herzegovina’s soccer club.However, the Bosnian civil war erupted at the end of Nermin Dizdar’s childhood. Forced to suspend league activities when troops occupied the Banja Luka stadium, FK Željezničar ceased operation. Mr. Dizdar served his community by working with the International Red Cross and helping to distribute food and other basics. Soon after, war came to Banja Luka and forced Nermin Dizdar, his future spouse, and his parents to leave the country in 1994.Initially attempting to settle in Croatia, the family soon split up, as Nermin Dizdar’s parents left for Sweden to join his sister. Separated from his family at the age of 18 when Sweden denied him entry, Nermin Dizdar and his future wife found a sponsor in Seattle, Washington, through the International Rescue Committee. In late 1994, the couple arrived in the United States with two duffel bags and a sponsor to greet them. Nermin Dizdar and his girlfriend applied for permanent resident visas through the International Rescue Committee.Nermin Dizdar’s sponsor put him in contact with the Bosnian community in Seattle. The sponsor helped him obtain employment at the Seattle International Airport, where he worked for five years. After that, Mr. Dizdar joined a few members of the Bosnian community and created a telecommunications company to help Bosnian émigrés stay in contact with relatives and friends back home.Nermin Dizdar went on to create his own wholesale telecommunications company, which he closed recently in reaction to a change in the Bosnian economy and the devaluation of the U.S. dollar. Continuing to reinvent himself, Mr. Dizdar is attending Bellevue College and studying Computer Maintenance and System Administration.